AAANZ Conference 2004: Present Pasts - Present Futures

Digital and new technologies, and art and art writing strea!"
Can the museum become a digital institution?
#eorge Petelin
$ all configurations that ha%e &re%iousl' e(isted on this earth !ust 'et !eet,
attract, re&ulse, )iss, and corru&t each other again""""
*einrich *eine +,uoted in the introduction to Friedrich Niet-sches The Gay
Science.
/ wish to e(a!ine and co!&are two significant &hases in the histor' of i!age
!a)ing that ha%e occurred in !' ti!e: the interternational a%ant-garde that
e!erged during the !id 20
th
centur' and the &heno!enon of net"art that
0egan towards the end of that centur'" 1his co!&arison will 0e in ter!s of
0oth the discursi%e lin)s that generate their rationale and their relation to the
institution of the !useu!"
1he !id 20
th
centur' A%antgarde can 0e characterised as ha%ing &erfor!ed a
series of criti,ues of the &re!ises that had under&inned 2odernist art
&ractice" All of these were i!0ricated with the issue of arts autonomy, fro!
societ', or fro! 3ife as it is often e(&ressed, and internall', a!ong the
different historical genres and !edia that for!ed the traditions of 4estern art
&ractice" / will 0riefl' esta0lish what these were, and then return to the! in
relation to net"art"
1he a%ant-gardes criti,ues, for the &ur&ose of this &a&er, will 0e reduced to
5ust fi%e: criti,ue of the 6u05ect, criti,ue of the 705ect, criti,ue of the 8od',
criti,ue of the Conce&t, and criti,ue of the 2useu!"
1he a%ant-gardes criti,ue of the 6u05ect can 0e located in Po& Arts
eradication of A0stract 9(&ressionis!s &ainterl' signifiers of su05ecti%it' for
e(a!&le 0' 3ichtenstein, and in the austere re0ellion, against the s&iritual
clai!s of artists such as 2ar) :oth)o and 8arnett New!an, 0' Fran) 6tella,
Carl Andre, and :ichard 6erra" 1his criti,ue results in an increasing
e!&hasis on the !aterialit' of art" 4hat 'ou see 0eco!es not 5ust what 'ou
see 0ut also what 'ou can touch; what occu&ies three di!ensions; what has
weight ; what e%en threatens 'ou with its &resence" 1hus, Donald <udd
0eco!es the focus of de0ates concerning the illegiti!ac' of relief on the
grounds that it offends the autono!', in the ter!s esta0lished 0' Cle!ent
#reen0erg, of 0oth scul&ture and &ainting"
1his de0ate a0out #reen0ergian autono!', while it deflects the !ore
i!&ortant conse,uence of this art=that of its challenging 0ut alwa's
a!0i%alent &osition regarding the autono!' of art fro! life=/ will argue
re!ains a defining characteristic of digital non-art +that later 0eco!es
recognised as art. 0ut also, / will argue that this &ractice, li)e the !id 20
th

centur' a%ant-garde, des&ite its !aterialist concerns, continues to engage
with the dialectic of the su0li!e"
/ronicall', the o05ecthood of 2ini!alis!s wor)s that logicall' e%ol%ed out of
#reen0ergian anti-illusionist &rinci&les, as Fried
>
o0ser%ed, results in a
theatricalit'=!a)es one aware of the conte(t and of the %iewers &resence"
1his has 0oth the effect of shattering the a&&arent self-sufficienc' or
autono!' of the o05ect and re-in%o)ing the su0li!e=0ut now as a !aterial
rather than as a s&iritual e(&erience" 1he Andre 0ric)s can 0e tri&&ed o%er,
the 6erra wall could crash on its s&ectators, and 6erras act of s&lashing
!olten lead could certainl' inflict !ortal da!age" 1he transience of hu!an
e(istence in the face of infinit' 0eco!es i!!anent rather than !erel'
conte!&lated"
A second iron' e!erges out of the unifor!it' and anon'!it' of o05ects
e!&lo'ed non-re&resentationall'" As :o0ert 2orris and Dan Fla%in +and,
indeed, also Carl Andre. disco%ered, the o05ect as !odule has no necessit'
to 0e uni,ue" *owe%er, it, or its re&lace!ents, can undergo countless
reconfigurations in the &roduction of new, relocated or totall' un&recedented,
wor)s" 1his inherent i!&lication of o05ecthood leads directl' to the notion that
the 705ect !a' 0e redundant, and that the re!aining art consists in
so!ething i!!aterial=al0eit now conce&tual rather than s&iritual" 1his, of
course, fused with late ?ietna! 4ar anti-co!!odit' senti!ents and
Ducha!&ian notions of the non-retinal to gi%e us %arious for!s of &ost-
o05ect art"
2
1he !aterialists redisco%er' of a su0li!e, together with an organic %iew of
o05ects fro! within their ran)s 0' artists such as 9%a *esse and 3ouise
8ourgeois, also allows the 8od', &articularl' within %arious for!s of
&erfor!ance and e%ent art, to 0e understood as the last sta)e when s&irit and
o05ect are no longer considered of conse,uence" An e(&loration of either the
li!its of the 0od', or its genderisation, thus for!s the focus of !uch
&erfor!ance art" At the sa!e ti!e, &erfor!ance and installation 0oth tend
towards an inde&endence fro! the 2useu! and hence integration with 3ife=
a co!&lete re%ersal of @antian autono!'" 1he e!0racing of chance as a
&rinci&le that is out of the control of the institution within !an' a%ant-garde
&ractices is e!0le!atic of this" /n !ore recent ti!es, art 0ased on &ost-
hu!anist notions addresses the o0solescence of the 0od'" 4hat in%aria0l'
re&laces the 0od' in this discourse is technolog'=e(&licitl', as in 6telarcs
wor), or i!&licitl' as in the anon'!ous, dis&ersed, and fre,uentl' auto!ated
authorshi& of net"art" 2ar) *ansen e%en argues that, uni,uel', digital art
results in a dissolution not 5ust of the author 0ut of the %iewer
2
"
8ut the heritage of toda's technological art would not 0e co!&lete without a
criti,ue of Conce&t that, again dialecticall', e!erged out of conce&tual art
itself" 1he atte!&ts to engage with conce&ts directl', soon led to the
realisation that conce&ts are e!0edded in language, 0e it %er0al or %isual"
Conce&ts thus e%a&orate in the face of a !aterial &resence=culture"
Post!odernis! as a historical art st'le with its self-conscious !ani&ulation of
a&&ro&riated signifiers is a direct heir to this tradition, 0ut net art with its
inherent de&endence on co!&uter languages is e%en !ore so" 6o again
there is an a!0i%alent consciousness of 0oth the ethereal nature of
infor!ation and its de&endence on !aterial hardware and the con%entions of
software"
4hile &erfor!ance, installation, and so!e for!s of conce&tual art were all
initiall' intent on !a)ing the !useu! redundant, we now )now that the
!useu! &ro%ed re!ar)a0l' resilient" Art !a' ha%e !erged with life at its
edges=in instances such as Flu(us and the 6ituationists=0ut it alwa's cre&t
0ac) to its institutional ha%en" 1he reason this occurred was that the !useu!
!ade itself indis&ensa0le to the econo!' of arts distri0ution, rece&tion, and
e(change, each of which in turn underwrote arts &roduction" Also, the
3
!useu! ac,uired a fle(i0ilit' that ena0led it to a0sor0 and co!!odif'
criti,ues of itself" 1his fle(i0ilit' is &recisel' due to the autono!' fro! real
life concerns in the @antian tradition that the !useu! e!0odies and that
radical art had tried to esca&e"
*owe%er, as we )now, that autono!' is regularl' strained through what
Decter
A
called the strateg' of Critical Co!&licit' and Co!&licit Criticalit'
0etween the !useu! and artists=together with the de&endence of the
!useu! on &u0lic funding" Atte!&ts at go%ern!ent censorshi&, &u0lic
outrage, and !edia ridicule ha%e in the !ain 0eco!e re&laced 0' a for! of
0ri0er' in ter!s of grants and funding &riorities" 1he !useu! has ada&ted to
each a%ant-garde, 0ut together with its go%erning constituenc' also sets rules
0' which this ada&tation ta)es &lace"
/n another sense, the !useu! is a discursi%e fra!ewor) that we carr' around
with us, 0' !eans of which we identif' 0oth art and anti-art" /ts e(istence
&recedes our engage!ent with art and sets the &ara!eters according to
which we a&&rehend it" 1he onl' things that esca&e these &ara!eters are
things that are not considered art at all" 1he &roducers of non-art, as
o&&osed to anti-art, howe%er, are still free to ado&t some of the traditions of
art that circulate in our societ'" 1hus 'ou can idolise Ducha!& and Flu(us for
their &hiloso&hies of life while wor)ing in 0usiness, science, or technolog'
and ha%e no e(&ectation that 'our wor) has an'thing to do with galleries" As
a &artici&ant in the >BBC 4al)er Art Centre and :hi-o!e s&onsored listser%
on net"art 8rian 2olineau( o0ser%es 2odernis! is o0%iousl' !ore than an
art !o%e!ent, ha%ing see&ed into the %er' fa0ric of societ'"
Da%id :oss e(-director of 6F272A o0ser%es:
1here are &ro0a0l' !an' &eo&le wor)ing within this s&ace who donDt necessaril'
consider the!sel%es artists 0ecause the' donDt want to li!it the!sel%es and their
acti%it' 0' a set of &re5udices and &re-definitions of artistic &ractice"
4

1he &roducers of what has co!e to 0e called net"art were, at least initiall',
li)e this" 1heir wor) contrasted with what !an' !useu! we0 sites &ro!oted"
Director of CultureNet Denmark Pia ?igh recalls that while !useu!s started
to catch on to the /nternet as an art !ediu! in the last 'ears of the nineties
and 0egan to collect, co!!ission and e(hi0it net-0ased artwor)s, !ost artists
4
who interest the! actuall' !ade their na!es outside the galler'-!useu!
!atri(
E
"
And although 2useu!s ha%e 0egun the a0sor&tion &rocess of net non-art,
the' still !ainl' !ediate &h'sical art digitall' or at 0est su&&le!ent &h'sical
art with we0-friendl' &roducts co!!issioned fro! esta0lished artists" /n an
article titled Hacking Culture, &resented at a 2useu!s F the 4e0
Conference ?igh still la!ents, in 2002, that the &o&ular understanding of
new !edia identifies it with the use of a co!&uter for circulation and
e(hi0ition, rather than &roduction
G
" 1his is not !erel' a !isunderstanding,
howe%er, 0ecause, as / will argue, there is an intrinsic inter&enetration of
&roduction and distri0ution, as well as of e(change and critical discourse,
crucial to understanding the significance of net"art"
1he generall' ac)nowledged father of net art, 6lo%enian ?u) Cosic, wor)ed
as &olitical acti%ist and cultural !anager, and studied archaeolog', when in
>BBE he !ade a we0site for a little festi%al he was associated with 5ust to
see how it wor)s
H
" +/n so!e inter%iews he ad!its to ha%e da00led in collage
and land art 0efore 0eco!ing a net artist, 0ut he is essentiall' trained in
archaeolog' and still tal)s of co!&leting his PhD in that disci&line." /n >BBG, a
'ear later, he created Net art &er se
C
, a site that outlined a !anifesto for
net"art and in%ol%ed a conference that in%ited a su0stantial core of the
&ersonnel who ha%e since 0eco!e the leading lights of this genre" As Cosic
re!e!0ers:
1hat was &rett' sur&rising for a lot of &eo&le" And / was %er' sur&rised that these gu's at
this conference a&&reciated !' wor)" And thatDs the 0eaut' of all of this that de%elo&ed
out of this conference" /tDs li)e !e and *eath 8unting and Ale(e5 6hulgin and 7lia 3ialina
and <odi +a colla0oration 0etween 9uro&ean artists <oan *ee!s)er) and Dir) Paes!ans.
had studios ne(t to each other, where we could loo) at what the others were doing
B
"
1his conference was entirel' self-generated and resulted in an a!a-ingl'
fruitful &rofessional relationshi& across national 0orders" Cosic fre,uentl'
co!&ares his relation to his colleagues with that of Picasso and 8ra,ue and
that of the /talian and :ussian Futurists" /t usuall' goes li)e this, sa's Cosi):
<odi do so!ething new - and the' are cra-', the' are !aniacs, the' create
so!ething new e%er' other da' - and the' send the I:3 to !e, and as): 4hat do
5
'ou thin) a0out thisJ And there are colla0orations o%er the net, too, and grou&
&ro5ects" 4e steal a lot fro! each other, in the sense that we ta)e so!e &arts of
codes, we ad!ire each others tric)s" <odi are %er' interesting in their e(&loration of
technolog', 0ut *eath is !agnificent in his social awareness and his glorious
egotis!, or Ale(e5 with his :ussian te!&era!ent" C'0er-2a5a)ows)i, so!eone once
called hi!
>0
"
1his relationshi& is ,uite different fro! the 5ealousl' guarded creati%it' of
!ainstrea! art, as ?igh o0ser%es:
6ince net artists are not sufficientl' econo!icall' su&&orted through the
consu!&tion of their wor), net artists are not that concerned with co&'right" 1he
0asis for netart is an econo!' of exchange" Pecuniar' econo!' has 0een
introduced during the last two 'ears 0ut still e(change re!ains the !ost i!&ortant"
1his e(change is interlin)ed with the free software co!!unit'=net artists tend to
use free software and net artists that de%elo& software tend to share this with the
netart co!!unit'" 7ften source code is distri0uted in e(tensi%e friendshi&Kcolleague
networ)s or e%en &u0licl' for download" 6oftware de%elo&ed 0' the free software
co!!unit' is often &rotected 0' anti co!!ercial licenses, for e(a!&le 0' the
co!!on #NI, #eneral Pu0lic Ise license" Net artists dealing with this e(change
are concerned a0out co&'right onl' in the sense that the wor) sta's freeK&art of the
e(change
>>
"
Although !ostl' co!!itted to ro!antic notions of freedo!, net"artists, li)e
other hac)er co!!unities, 0egan 0' selective in%ol%e!ent and e(change"
1heir we0sites were often distinguished 0' addresses such as
htt&:KKwwwwwwwww"5odi"org or htt&:KKwww"0>00>0>>>0>0>>0>"org, that an
ordinar' citi-en would not co!e u&on e(ce&t 0' the !ost re!ote accident"
4hat is it, a&art fro! their ro!antic role-&la' that characterises net"artists as
a latter-da' a%ant-gardeJ 1he' are &atentl' heirs to conce&tualis! in that
their &roducts are e&he!eral and 0ased on reconfiguration of often !odular
co!&onents" And li)e ad%anced conce&tualis! their wor) is !aterialist in its
denial of su05ecti%it' and e!0race of cultural !eaning s&ecific to their
co!!unit'" And although it treats the 0od' as largel' redundant, / will argue
that it continues to e%o)e the su0li!e" 8ut, !ost i!&ortant of all, it continues
to engage with #reen0ergian notions of autono!'" 4hat distinguishes it fro!
6
other for!s of we0 art is its concern for the intrinsic nature of its own !ediu!
rather than the !ediation of so!ething e(trinsic to it"
1o recall Cle!ent #reen0ergs dictu!:
the essence of !odernis! lies$in the use of the characteristic !ethods of a
disci&line to criticise the disci&line itself$"1he tas) of self criticis! 0eca!e to
eli!inate fro! the effects of each art an' and e%er' effect that !ight concei%a0l' 0e
0orrowed fro! or 0' the !ediu! of an' other art
>2
"
*ow net"art is distinguished fro! other &heno!ena on the we0 is 0est
illustrated 0' the htt&:KKwwwwwwwww"5odi"org site which re,uires so!e
&rogra!!ing sa%%' to 0e understood at all" 4hen 'ou first enter it, all 'ou
see is rows of stro)es and nu!0ers and dis!iss it as si!&l' !eaningless, 0ut
a &rogra!!er curious to in%estigate what !ight ha%e gone wrong with the
source code to generate this gi00erish would &ress the source 0utton on
their 0rowser to find not the e(&ected rows of ht!l code, 0ut a %isual diagra!"
1he code thus acts as the i!age and the &icture acts as the code"
Synchro mail 0' 3isa <e%0ratt
>A
in%ites 'ou to send an indi%idual e!ail totall'
anon'!ousl' to a totall' rando! destination and then gra&hicall' re&resents
the choices !ade" 1hus it consists entirel' of inherent functions of the
technolog' rather than !ediate so!e e(trinsic to&ic" Progra!!ing can &la'
e%en a !ore co!&le( role in so!e net"art" Riot, Shredder, and Landfill 0'
&otatoland"org, for instance, each &ro%ide alternati%e 0rowser e(&eriences
that radicall'=or e%en trau!aticall'=disru&t the s&atial !eta&hors of
nor!al we0surfing sufficientl' to !a)e 'ou fear for the sur%i%al of 'our data"
Another e(a!&le, Carnivore 0' Ale( #allowa' and the :adical 6oftware
#rou&, is a sur%eillance tool for data networ)s" At the heart of the &ro5ect,
their site e(&lains,
is Carni%oreP9, a software a&&lication that listens to all /nternet traffic +e!ail, we0
surfing, etc". on a s&ecific local networ)" Ne(t, Carni%oreP9 ser%es this data strea!
o%er the net to an unli!ited nu!0er of creati%e interfaces called Lclients"L 1he clients
are each designed to ani!ate, diagnose, or inter&ret the networ) traffic in %arious
wa's"

7
Carni%oreP9 is ins&ired 0' DC6>000, a &iece of software used 0' the F8/ to &erfor!
electronic wireta&s
>4
"
4hat results fro! this &ainsta)ingl' &rogra!!ed software, howe%er, is not
securit' sur%eillance, 0ut a continuous organicall' unfolding i!age that is a
real-ti!e reflection of the %er' &ulse of the we0" 1he sinister as&ect of this is
that the author ad!its that this software could actuall' 0e used for o0taining
data illegall'" 1hat the core software is ca&a0le of !ulti&le uses is
de!onstrated 0' the series of further artistic a&&lications of it 0' other
&ro!inent net"artists also lin)ed to this site"
A considera0le nu!0er of such sites 0oth e(&ose !oral conse,uences of the
we0s own nature and incor&orate, once again, a su0li!e edge through so!e
for! of digital terror" 2ost nota0le, were iennale!"y
#$
a %irus artwor) 0'
0>00>0>>>0>0>>0>"org released and sold as source code on t-shirts and on
CD-:o!s at the 200> ?enice 8iennale, and %ork&om&
#'
, a code that
e(ecutes for)ed instructions that graduall' use u& the resources of a
co!&uter until it crashes" 1heir intention to 0e art differs in degree 0ut their
clai! to 0e su0li!e consists in that 0oth of the! e!&lo' &rogra!!ing
considered a!ongst hac)ers to 0e as re!ar)a0l' elegant as it is destructi%e"
8ut ha%ing identified that net"art &artici&ates in &recisel' the sa!e dialectic
as did a%ant-gardis!, what is different a0out itJ 1he !ost significant
difference as / ha%e alread' suggested, is net"arts ca&acit' to 0e
si!ultaneousl' a site of &roduction and of its own distri0ution and, in addition,
the a0ilit', as Da%id :oss &uts it, to colla&se the distinction 0etween critical
dialogue and generati%e dialogue" 1hus net"art !a)es, e(hi0its, and criti,ues
itself si!ultaneousl'"
As Pia ?igh o0ser%es, we are faced with the &arado( that the /nternet is the
&erfect tool to 0ring down all hierarch' and 0ring art and culture directl' to
the audience" ?igh is so!ewhat deferential to net"art under the
circu!stances, 5udging that
Although net art does not need !useu!s, one can still see how !useu!s of
conte!&orar' art need net art" Pu0lic !useu!s of conte!&orar' art are !eant to co%er
the whole field of conte!&orar' art, and therefore the' !ust necessaril' also co%er net
8
art" /f !useu!s ha%e to ta)e net art seriousl', the' ha%e to start with the alread'
esta0lished co!&etencies and %ia0le foru!s outside the !useu!s" 2useu!s that wish
to co%er net art should 5oin these foru!s" For the sa)e of the re&utation of !useu!s in
the net art en%iron!ent, it is essential that the' do not a&&ear to 0e &arasites or MlusersN -
!ere users of net art who 5ust download the resulting wor)s of art without contri0uting to
their structural strengthening and the !ore &rocess-oriented de%elo&!ent
>H
"
1he net has de%elo&ed nu!erous %irtual institutions of its own that ena0le it
to filter, e(hi0it, archi%e, and de0ate its own &roduction"
As ?igh o0ser%es"
7ne can &oint to &ri%ate Mnet art institutionsN such as :hi-o!e in I6A
+htt&:KKrhi-o!e"orgKfreshK., ArtNet in Norwa' +htt&:KK)unst")ulturnett"noKarti))el"&h&J
na%nOartnet., and Artnode +htt&:KKwww"artnode"d)K. in Den!ar), as well as !ailing lists
such as netti!e, which has grown on the /nternet, as i!&ortant disse!inators of net art,
0ecause the' su&&ort dialogue with and a0out net art and the /nternet" Inli)e the
esta0lished art institution, these inde&endent institutions are all a &roduct of the /nternet
focused on net art and the i!&act of the /nternet on cultural and societal de%elo&!ent"
:hi-o!e"org, is a non-&rofit organi-ation founded in >BBG to &ro%ide an
online &latfor! for the glo0al new !edia art co!!unit'" For e(-6F272A
director Da%id :oss it re&laced 9cho +a !ore general su0scri&tion 0ased NP
0ased online co!!unit'. as well as reading all art maga(ines
>C
" Des&ite its
influence, the nature of the net allows :hi-o!e to 0e a shoestring enter&rise"
/ disco%er, fro! its foru! archi%es, that /tDs a guerrilla o&eration with no
!one'" /tDs three &eo&le running it +:achel #reen, Ale( #allowa', 2ar)
1ri0e." 2ore recentl', :ussian net"artist 7lia 3ialina has set u&
1ele&ortacia"org
>B
to &u0lish, &u0licise, and, a!a-ingl', !ar)et, her own
e&he!eral and infinitel' co&'a0le wor)s"
1his incestuous si!ultaneit' inherent in the !ediu! results 0oth in its
strengths and its Achilles heel: the onl' thing that net"art cannot &ro%ide for
itself is o05ecti%e e(ternal %alidation" Although it has generated its own
%irtual institutions, 0' %irtue of their !ediu!, these are as sus&ect as the
hoa( site re&roductions that are its trade!ar)" /t is i!&ossi0le to gauge which
iteration of an inter%iew, or %ersion of histor', or attri0ution of authorshi&, or
&h'sical location is genuine" 6o while &eer su&&ort within the net co!!unit'
hel&s esta&lish credentials, ulti!atel' there is a te!&tation to see) flatter'
9
and &erha&s &rofit fro! outside"
2useu! accreditation, howe%er, is tied to its e(hi0ition of the wor), which for
net"art re!ains &ro0le!atic" ?igh argues that
2ost often a !useu!s a&&roach to net art is to %iew net art !erel' as the cultural
heritage of to!orrow" 4hich of course is trueQ Pet net art cannot 0e fi(ed in ti!e"$
4or)s of net art cannot 0e institutionalised as autono!ous art o05ects isolated fro! the
conte(t of the /nternet, 0ecause the' relate to the artistic idio!s and discourse of the
/nternet" /t is d'na!ic art, the significance of which arises out of the encounter 0etween
the artwor), the audience, and the conte(t"""
20
2oreo%er, the e(tent of the &heno!enon cannot 0e understated" As one
curator finds
1here are no fanfares, no firewor)s, no tic)et 0ooth at the entrance" <ust scores of
&ages, s&awning li)e !ushroo!s, scattered li)e snowfla)es all o%er the 4e0
2>
"
Des&ite these difficulties, 2useu! recognition for the &ioneers of this
&ractice has co!e a0out ra&idl' o%er the &ast few 'ears" 2useu!s such as
the 4al)er in /ndiana&olis, the 4hitne'
22
, the 1ate
2A
, the 6F272A
24
, 1he Dia
Foundation
2E
, and, in Australia, 1he National #aller' of ?ictoria
2G
ha%e all
esta0lished sections on their we0 site dealing with the net"art &heno!enon"
4ithin the ran)s of net"artists there re!ains an a!0i%alence a0out this" 1o!
8ell writing to the Poetics of /nternet artKacti%is! section of 4al)er Art
Centres Shock of the )ie* 3istser% disco%ers that
A&&arentl' / dont ha%e enough !one' and co!&uting &ower to get to the 4hitne'
&ast the ad" / thin) the ta)eo%er 0' co!!ercialis! and costl' technolog' and
software is one of the things artists !ight address rather than succu!0ing
2H
"
?alRr' #rancher, a digital and conce&tual artist who, out of a&&arent
frustration with the corru&tion of net"art has returned to &ainting, la!ents:
/ would sa' that / alwa's &ercei%ed internet as a d'na!ic &rocess, a networ) s&ace
where nothing !a' 0e free-ed" /nternet is dealing with new conce&t of ti!e and
s&ace, and is defining on another wa' hu!an identit' and &heno!enolg'" Net art is
a &rocess" 1his !edia has e%ol%ed fro! >BBC until toda' to a huge !ar)et where we
cannot find an' 1AZ +*a)i! 8e' li)e on >BB4 when net art was concei%edQ 1he we0
and internet is toda' a s&ace where 0randing icons are 0ringing a new )ind of
10
consu!eris! +the h'&erconsu!eris!. where also language !a' 0e co!!erciali-ed
+Lgoogle adwordsL, C" 8runo., a new )ind of D&o&D with its %isual signs, logo, ?/P and
so on, so on"""
3i)e ?u) Cosi) +the father of net art. is sa'ing, N91 A:1 /6 D9AD Q it is dead
0ecause the conte(t where net art was &roduced doesnDt e(ist an'!ore"""
2C
1he &ioneers of net"art a&&ear to ha%e antici&ated this at least since >BBB, as
Natalie 8oo)chin and Ale(ei 6hulgins site titled /ntroduction to net"art >BB4-
>BBB
2B
indicates" *ere the' identif' net"arts 0eginnings as the ulti!ate
!odernis! &ro!ising 0S co!&ro!ise and, after listing its %arious for!s of
inter%ention, announce that net"art is underta)ing !a5or transfor!ations as a
result of its newfound status and institutional recognition and ad!it that this
!aterialisation signals its de!ise" 1he' then !a)e an ironic 0ut re!ar)a0l'
accurate list of the career strategies necessar' to 0e a successful !odernist
artist" *owe%er, the' conclude, o&ti!isticall' in ter!s of a%ant-garde %alues,
with a Ito&ian a&&endi( +after net"art. that suggests that the insurgence is
not o%er, 5ust read' to shift arenas" 1his is consonant with the theor' of
1e!&orar' Autono!ous Zones
A0
&ro!oted 0' underground theorist )nown
as *a)i! 8e', who is a )ind of cult guru of hac)ers, and who a!ong other
strategies sets his #u' De0ord-li)e ideas to hea%'-!etal !usic
A>
" /n a
nutshell, he argues that re%olution is un&roducti%e 0ecause it in%aria0l'
results in conser%ati%e 0ac)lash and that, instead, radicals should en5o'
the!sel%es through guerrilla s)ir!ishes on e%er-shifting territories and ta)e
ad%antage of whate%er 0enefits the' can gain"
De0ate on associated listser%s e(&oses two sets of attitudes regarding
whether the territor' is 'et read' to 0e %acated" As :achel #reene, an editor
of Rhi(ome and now author of this 'ears definiti%e 0oo) on /nternet art 0'
1ha!es and *udson
A2
, su!s u&:
Arti%ist *eath 8unting laid down two strategies: for those interested in getting wor) into
galleries and !useu!s, these artists need to understand the !ar)eting !achines of the
art world and +&erha&s. 0uild on the!" 1hose who ca!e to the networ) 0ecause
the' were interested in a%oiding these s'ste!s, as 8unting did, should
0uild their own econo!ies and structures" 7ne artist who has done so is
:ussian 7lia 3ialina, who showed her new galler' s&ace --Thtt&:KKart"tele&ortacia"org"
1hose who ha%e +nai%e. !onolithic conte!&t for the acade!', the !useu!,
11
etc" are !issing out" #uaranteed, there are &eo&le in these &laces who !ight 0e
interested in their wor)" 1each collectors, &otential s&onsors and art world thought
leaders a0out new !edia art" *ow to get the! interestedJ /nfiltrate !ainstrea!
5ournalis! and !edia, organi-e e%ents and shows" <ust do it" /f 'ou 0elie%e those with
!one' and &ower ha%e 0uilt a !all, 0uild a new one" 7r assi!ilate into the s'ste! and
construct fro! there
AA
"
P.S. she advises, and if you sell out, don't sell cheap. Nietzsches eternal return conceded,
Modernist idealism is certainly not quite what it used to be
!eor"e Petelin, Senior #ecturer $%rt &heory',
(ueensland )olle"e of %rt, !riffith *niversity
NOTES
12
1
2ichael Fried, +rt and o&,ecthood - essays and revie*s Chicago : Ini%ersit' of Chicago Press, >BBC"
2
2ar)" 8" N" *ansen, Ne* "hiloso"hy for ne* media, 2assachusetts /nstitute of 1echnolog': 2ass, 2004"
3
<oshua Decter, De-Coding the 2useu!, %lash +rt, ?ol UU///, No%"-Dec", >BB0, No" >EE, &&" >40->42"
4
Da%id :oss, +rt and the +ge of the Digita, >BBB, htt&:KKswitch"s5su"eduKwe0Kross"ht!l
+
Pia ?igh, .useums / the 0e& Conference 2002, htt&:KKwww"archi!use"co!K!w2002Ks&ea)ersKinde("ht!l
,
Pia ?igh, .useums / the 0e& Conference 2002, htt&:KKwww"archi!use"co!K!w2002Ks&ea)ersKinde("ht!l
7
htt&:KKa!sterda!"netti!e"orgK3ists-Archi%esKnetti!e-l-BH0BK!sg000EA"ht!l
8
htt&:KKwww"no!e!or'"orgKwe0&aintKdataKte(t2"ht!
9
www"l5ud!ila"orgKnetti!eK
10
www"l5ud!ila"orgKnetti!eK
--
Pia ?igh, .useums / the 0e& Conference 2002, htt&:KKwww"archi!use"co!K!w2002Ks&ea)ersKinde("ht!l
12
Cle!ent #reen0erg, 2odernist Painting>BG0, htt&:KKwww"shareco!"caKgreen0ergK!odernis!"ht!l
13
htt&:KK>2C">>>"GB"4KV5e%0rattKs'ncroW!ailKunconsciousWcollecti%eK
14
htt&:KKwww"rhi-o!e"orgKcarni%oreK
15
htt&:KKwww"0>00>0>>>0>0>>0>"orgKho!eK0iennaleW&'K
16
htt&:KKwww"run!e"orgK&ro5ectKXfor)0o!0K
17
Pia ?igh, .useums / the 0e& Conference 2002, htt&:KKwww"archi!use"co!K!w2002Ks&ea)ersKinde("ht!l
18
Da%id :oss, +rt and the +ge of the Digital >BBB, htt&:KKswitch"s5su"eduKwe0Kross"ht!l
19
htt&:KK tele&ortacia"org
20
Pia ?igh, .useums / the 0e& Conference 2002, htt&:KKwww"archi!use"co!K!w2002Ks&ea)ersKinde("ht!l
21
3ee *sin *sin >BBC htt&:KKwww"archi!use"co!K!wBCK&a&ersKlinKlinW&a&er"ht!lY4e0S20Art
22
htt&:KKwww"whitne'"orgKe(hi0itionK2)0Kinternet"ht!l
23
htt&:KKwww"tate"org"u)Knetart
24
htt&:KK0>0>0>"sf!o!a"orgK
25
htt&:KKwww"diacenter"orgKwe0&ro5Kinde("ht!l
26
htt&:KKwww"ac!i"net"auK2004K
27
htt&:KK20B"A2"200"2H:C0C0KVshoc)
28
htt&:KKwww"no!e!or'"orgKwe0&aintKdataKte(t2"ht!
29
htt&:KKwww"eas'life"orgKnetart
30
htt&:KKwww"her!etic"co!K0e'Kta-A"ht!lYla0el1AZ
31
htt&:KKwww"road)ill"co!K2D8Kal0u!"&ht!lK20>>C
32
:achel #reene, 1nternet +rt, 1ha!es F *udson, 3ondon 2004"
33
htt&:KK20B"A2"200"2H:C0C0KVshoc)